Be Smart And Get Tested
We’re all sexual creatures and it’s completely natural. At this age, there’s no reason to settle down with anyone other than ourselves and we have the option to sleep with any worthwhile opportunity that presents itself.
It’s summer time, so naturally everyone will be as close to naked as humanly possible when they can be. Who can blame them? It’s undoubtedly more noticeable how summer brings out the best in people because it’s basically three months of much need spiritual enlightenment. It's 90 degrees, everyone’s tan, smiling and wasted: the way it should be. But we have to be smart about our “sexcapades.”
The fun and games stop when you let your inhibitions fly out the window for a spur of the moment desire. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve heard recently who have made this fateful mistake and will suffer the consequences for years to come. All it took was one irresponsible move, so don’t be one of these people.
Do yourself, and all the rest of us who like to have just as much fun as you, a favor: grow a sack and get tested. It’s better to know than not to know. This should come as no surprise that most of these infections/diseases don’t show themselves right away.
Yes, there are no formal tests for some, but that also shouldn’t deter you from at least getting checked. It could be years before they pop up and you could be spreading your bad decisions to everyone else. Your ignorance to this reality is not an excuse to take somebody else down with you.
If You Know Something, Say Something:
If you know you have a preexisting condition and are about to get down and dirty, say something because that person deserves to know. It doesn’t mean you’ll never have sex again, but you can’t make the choice for someone else by not disclosing vital information.
Taking responsibility for your actions is a life lesson that should have been learned in general by now. You were afraid to tell your partner about your condition, but not too afraid to get your rocks off at their expense; shame on you.
You’re Too Scared:
This is also an unjustifiable excuse. The actual drawings of blood/physical examinations are not what anyone should be afraid of; the waiting for the results is. You may not eat or sleep for the five days it takes, but it will force you to reflect on your mistakes and prepare for disappointment.
This way when you get your results, you either feel gratification and relief or you were mentally prepared for bad news. You’ll be a lot more terrified when strange things start happening to your junk and you didn’t do a damn thing to treat it in time.
Get Educated: If you’re sexually active and for some ridiculous reason feel there’s no need to get tested because a) don’t see anything, b) been with the same person for so long c) whatever other asinine conclusion you’ve come to, at least do some research as to what could happen.
Maybe that will knock some sense into you because being dumb as a bag of bricks, much like an STD, isn’t cute. Going onto Google and trying to diagnose your own conditions is possibly one of the worst decisions anyone can make. Those websites are liars and can mentally terrorize you.
The Center for Disease Control is a reliable source of information. This is beneficial for those viruses that there are no tests for; in the event that anything does pop up, you can be equipped better to deal with it. HPV is one of those viruses. I am not advocating any vaccines, but guys can be vaccinated as well.
The only way to know for sure is to man up and get to the doctor. If you’re that mortified for the test to pop up on an insurance statement or be seen by your family friend’s cousin’s wife in the waiting room, there are other outlets to utilize that can carry out the same tests. Some are even for free because that’s how much they appreciate the fact that you’re getting checked.
For the interloping groups of friends who are so closely knit and like to sleep with each other over the weekends, watch out. If one of you decides to venture out of the group and then return to the group, you’ll be sharing more than clothes, memories and secrets. You wouldn’t want to do that would you? Friends don’t let friends get herpes.
One last thing: some places don’t check for HIV unless you request it and sign a form. I don’t care how confident you think you are in that “no one you know has it, therefore I don’t,” if none of you are getting tested, how would you know? Oh right, you wouldn’t. Sign the damn form and get the extra testing done, you’re already there. You might as well condense the mental terrorizing to one trip, because it is a terrible anxiety filled few days.
You should give a sh*t about your genitals as well as others genitals. Everybody gets one set of cash and prizes; you should treat them as such. We’re still young and now isn’t the time to doom our sex lives. Later on in life when the mid-life changes start taking place, around the time women start turning into men and vice versa, then maybe we can talk about retiring our sex lives.
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